Certified B Corporation · 1% for the Planet

Advance Humanity

Our mission is simple. We help optimists change the world.

Advance Humanity logo
Travis, hands on his hips, looking out over the green Mongolian steppe under a wide summer sky
Mongolia, from the post that launched AdvanceHumanity.com on World Peace Day, September 21, 2011.

Following my service in the Peace Corps, I created a humanitarian consulting agency called Advance Humanity. It was dedicated to helping people change themselves and change the world.

Everyday humanitarians, freelancers, nonprofits and businesses were all part of our worldwide community.

Where the name came from

Two words, out of a thesaurus

Long before it was a company, Advance Humanity was the name of my journal. On June 23, 2005, I wrote that it was “the catch phrase which I kept coming across as I used the thesaurus,” and that “it helps to define my principles, my values and in someway it helps define me.” Under the post, I listed the words I’d found for each half.

ad·vanceexploration, growth, progress…

exploration, searching, probing, studying, understanding, discovering, voyaging, journeying, learning, insight, wisdom, harmony, inner peace, perception, acuity, observation, awareness, sensitivity, knowledge, discovery, breakthrough, new idea, revolution, development, growth, improvement, expansion, increase, training, education, enhancement, change, enrichment, excellence, fulfillment, completion, realization, rightness, progress, fortification, strengthening, further explanation, elaboration, clarification, explaining, elucidation, revelation

hu·man·i·tykindness, compassion, people…

humankind, civilization, human race, people, kindness, charity, compassion, sympathy, mercy, care, empathy, consideration, thoughtfulness, contemplation, respect, reflection, community, nation, intimates, family, ancestors, relations, introduce, development, evolution, progress, refinement, gentleness, kindheartedness

Advance learning. Advance kindness.

The story

From a journal to a B Corp

  1. A name for my journal

    I named my central blog Advance Humanity, after a long look through the thesaurus.

    Read the post →

  2. Deciding what it was all about

    I began deciding what the idea of Advance Humanity was all about, how I wanted to share it with others and how they could join in the effort.

    My yearly themes →

  3. A motto: change yourself, change your world

    Under a quote from the Dalai Lama, I wrote: As we are developing our organization we are organizing our activities around helping people change themselves through inspiration and personal growth and then change the world through projects and donating their energy and resources to good causes.

    Read the post →

  4. Launch day, on World Peace Day

    I chose this day to launch because I want it to be a reminder that each of us can do something, no matter how small, to change ourselves and change the world. The same year, TEDxUlaanbaatar, the first TEDx in Mongolia, came true.

    Read the launch post →

  5. Building it

    I focused on launching Advance Humanity, spent the year developing the website, working with New Media Group and starting graduate school.

    My yearly themes →

  6. Everything under one roof, and B Corp Certified

    I focused on bringing together all of the various projects, organizations and initiatives I was involved in, unifying them under Advance Humanity. Getting Advance Humanity B Corp Certified came off my life list the same year.

    What’s a B Corp? →

  7. A community blog, one theme a month

    Our Fellows, partners and I wrote about living simply, everyday humanitarians, mindful eating and technology. All twenty posts are back below.

    Read the blog ↓

  8. Sponsoring New England’s B Corps

    Advance Humanity was a sponsoring company for the 3rd Annual New England B Corps Leadership Development Retreat, when over 180 Certified B Corps employees, fans and friends from all over New England gathered at the Alnoba.

  9. Fifteen years later, almost to the day

    This site launched on September 16, 2026, fifteen years (less five days) after AdvanceHumanity.com went live on World Peace Day.

    How this site came to be →

Change yourself.Change your world.

Our motto · 2010
Our mission

A force for good

We were one of the founding B Corporations in New England, alongside some great companies like King Arthur Flour, Seventh Generation and Ben & Jerry’s. B Corps are dedicated to making our business a force for good by working with people who are making the world a better place, whether nonprofit, for profit or educational institutions.

Over a decade, I provided consulting to help companies become Certified B Corporations, including the first one in Asia. I provided pro-bono services to nonprofits who were trying to make a big impact in the world. And I taught in graduate schools to empower changemakers and entrepreneurs while making a minimal environmental impact.

I donated 10% of my time to pro-bono work and in-kind donations, and we were also proud to be a Certified B Corporation and member of 1% for the Planet.

What’s a B Corp? My B Corps 101 presentation, the videos, and a free 56-page primer on using business as a force for good. Read B Corps →
Accelerating change

We worked with optimists who were building a brighter future

The TEDxUlaanbaatar team together on stage under the event's LEGACY banner
Mongolia · The New Media Group

The first Certified B Corp in Asia, and the first TEDx in Mongolia

“Travis is extraordinary… with his guidance and help our team was able to host the first TEDx in Mongolia and become the first Certified B Corporation in Asia. He is a great leader, business partner and friend.”

Mende Amartaivan · The New Media Group
The TEDxUlaanbaatar story → B Corps 101 →

Organizations we worked with

Projects

Client feedback

In their words

“Working with Advance Humanity is transformational. The talent, energy, and integrity of the Advance Humanity team helped reposition my business and enabled me to bring both the business and my professional career to a new level.”

AmySocial Entrepreneur, USA

“Travis is truly exceptional. He has been a source of inspiration, encouragement, and knowledge and his guidance has helped Life Vest Inside continue to move forward and take steps in the right direction.”

Orly WahbaLife Vest Inside

“Advance Humanity has made available a wide network of professionals who can help me take my projects to new heights I’d never considered possible. The opportunity to draw on that advice and support is really exciting.”

HeathPeace Corps Volunteer in Mongolia

“Travis’s drive and passion to empower others is second to none. He has continuously encouraged and challenged our team to think bigger than ourselves. He is an inspiration and a player every team needs.”

Matt JohnsonProject Living Well

“Travis has a track record of making good things happen. Now he’s brought together a team to help you reach your own goals to help humanity.”

Judy GatesAdvance Humanity Partner

“The personal and professional support I received from the Advance Humanity Community turned me from a graduate student into a social entrepreneur. The Fellows program is my opportunity to pay it forward, have fun, and learn!”

AlexNonprofit Consultant in Rwanda

“Being part of the Advance Humanity community has helped me to meet amazing world changers that inspire me to do my small part every day.”

Bonnie NelsonPeace Corps Volunteer

“By connecting people who share a passion for social entrepreneurship, Advance Humanity has accomplished something totally unique: to provide an interactive workplace for Partners to collaborate, accelerate, and creatively innovate together, wherever they may be.”

David RengifoAdvance Humanity Partner
The Fellows program

Meet our Fellows

We also provided mentoring and support to a special group of Fellows working in a wide variety of humanitarian work. Our Fellows included Peace Corps Volunteers, activists, authors, photographers and consultants in places like Tibet, Mongolia, Iraq, Nicaragua, Myanmar, Azerbaijan as well as here in the United States.

  • Tunga HellstromTunga HellstromMongoliaMasters & Women’s EmpowermentLinkedIn
  • Heath MitchellHeath MitchellMongoliaPeace Corps Volunteer · Good Father ProjectLinkedIn
  • Karen RossKaren RossMyanmarInclusivity & Civic EngagementLinkedIn
  • Amir AshourAmir AshourIraqHuman Rights & LGBTQA+ ActivistLinkedIn
  • Emily GaynorEmily GaynorUSAMasters & B Corps WorldwideLinkedIn
  • Julie NelsonJulie NelsonAzerbaijanPeace Corps Volunteer & MBA StudiesLinkedIn
  • Ashley VeenemaAshley VeenemaUSAMasters in Sustainable DevelopmentLinkedIn
  • Chris DeBruynChris DeBruynIraqPeace Corps Volunteer & PhotographerLinkedIn
  • Jampa LatsoJampa LatsoTibetMasters & Women’s EmpowermentLinkedIn

“I couldn’t be more excited about the Fellows program, it’s exactly the kind of support system that I wish had been around for me when I was launching my projects.”

Travis Hellstrom · Advance Humanity
From the Advance Humanity blog

Twenty posts, one theme a month

Our fellows and partners wrote for the Advance Humanity community blog, a theme each month: everyday humanitarians, mindful eating, living simply. Their posts are back, under their own names.

Living simply

  1. Living Simply at HomeJudy Gates
  2. 3 Ways to Slow DownJeannie Diep
  3. Interview with Jeffrey HamelmanAmy Robb
  4. Everyday HumanitarianBonnie Nelson

Everyday humanitarians

  1. What is an Everyday Humanitarian?Bonnie Nelson
  2. Super-Humanitarians and Everyday HumanitariansJames Shreve
  3. 42 Errors Changemakers and Humanitarians MakeHeath Mitchell
  4. Everyday Humanitarian Book ReviewsJudy Gates
  5. Living KindlyDavid Rengifo
  6. 5 Keys to Relationship BuildingBonnie Nelson
  7. March Preview: Mindful EatingFaith Terwilliger

Mindful eating

  1. Michael Pollan’s 7 Rules for EatingTravis Hellstrom
  2. Does Eating Local Really Make an Environmental Difference?David Rengifo
  3. Redirecting Food WasteJeannie Diep
  4. How to Help our Children be Mindful EatersJudy Gates
  5. 5 Simple Steps to Eating Healthy While TravelingJustin Bibee
  6. Book Review of Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life by Thich Nhat HanhFaith Terwilliger

Technology

  1. Technology as a ToolSerenity Bolt
  2. Take a Break From TechnologySerenity Bolt
  3. 5 Ways to Learn OnlineSerenity Bolt
Still helping optimists

Follow along

One essay a week, every Saturday morning.

Two dreams from my list, and the thread running through my Year of Advance Humanity, Year of Awesome and Year of Unity. More of what I’ve built is on my projects page.